Re: Purpose of rotating bezel?

This is how I understand it; When a diver wears a watch such as the ones you show here, with a rotating bezel, they move the marker at the twelve position to a certain time around the dial. While the diver is underwater he can see when the hand reaches that point on the bezel he will be out of air and he needs to float up. This is what I have heard but maybe the bezel can just be used as a general timer or some other purpose that I am not aware of.

Random Point: A few weeks ago my dad aproached me and said "Help me out, my watch is broken, the bezel only moves one way!" HE HAS HAD THIS WATCH FOR FOUR YEARS AND HE DOES NOT KNOW HIS BEZEL IS UNI-DIRECTIONAL!"

Re: Purpose of rotating bezel?

[i]A bezel is a rotating dial on the face of your dive watch with a pointer indicator. When you are ready to descend, you align the bezel with the minute hand, where it stays for the duration of the dive. By comparing the bezel and the minute hand you can easily see how long you have been submerged.

A special note about the rotating bezel on a good dive watch: it will only turn counterclockwise! Since it is possible to knock your watch against your body or have it turn by accident, watchmakers make sure that any accidental misalignment will turn the time in a conservative direction - telling you that the dive has been longer rather than shorter

Re: Purpose of rotating bezel?

A special note about the rotating bezel on a good dive watch: it will only turn counterclockwise! Since it is possible to knock your watch against your body or have it turn by accident, watchmakers make sure that any accidental misalignment will turn the time in a conservative direction - telling you that the dive has been longer rather than shorter

This is only true of watches with outer rotating bezels. Watches with inner rotating bezels, such as the B&R at the top of the screen, can "swing both ways" so to speak (sometimes-- I actually don't know about the B&R.)

Re: Purpose of rotating bezel?

Re: Purpose of rotating bezel?

I have used my rotating bezels to time everything from steaks on the grill to my taking the bar exam. Very handy when you only need accuracy in minutes/hours and not seconds. If I need to measure seconds, I use a digital stop watch.